The Problems with Perioperative Sleep Apnea Patients  

Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition that affects millions of people around the world.  What is amazing about this condition is that it often goes undiagnosed and therefore, untreated.   This is an issue for anesthesiologists because they need to know about the health of the person that they are working with.  When a person needs surgery and suffers from sleep apnea, perioperative problems may result.  This is why it is important that doctors carefully screen each patient before surgery. 

Types of Problems 

As you may know, sleep apnea is a condition where a person will stop breathing for ten seconds to a minute while sleeping.  This is often caused by an obstruction in the airway or even a miscommunication between the brain and the respiratory system. 

The result is that perioperative problems and sleep apnea often go together hand in hand.  Anesthesia has the possibility of exacerbating the sleep apnea symptoms, which will relax the airway muscles more so.  There is a chance of respiratory distress during and after surgery.  The result is that oxygen flow to the brain may pose a threat of the overall health of the patient. 

Minimizing Surgical Complications 

Minimizing the problems is possible but one must know if they have sleep disorder. Being prepared for this condition will give the anesthesiologist time to have a plan of action ready.

Since certain sedatives may contribute to episodes of sleep apnea, a careful selection of medications should be decided upon before the surgical procedure. During surgery, the focus of the anesthesiologist will be on keeping the airways open to allow for normal respiration.

When the surgery is over, special care needs to be given to sleep apnea patients, checking to see if there is any swelling of the throat muscles as a result of intubation, which is placing a tube in the air passage to provide breathing support during surgery.

This tube may stay in place until the patient is fully awake and breathing without difficulty. A Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine should be used to aid the patient after surgery, if necessary.  

Evaluation will help to relieve perioperative sleep apnea problems. Recognizing that a patient has sleep apnea, even if this condition had never been formally diagnosed, is a crucial step before any surgical procedure.

With that knowledge in hand, the anesthesiologist can aggressively monitor the patient, with attention given to any breathing complications. Because surgery, with its use of anesthesia and other sedative drugs, can seriously affect a sleep apnea patient's breathing, out-patient or same-day surgery is not recommended because of possible.

Being in a hospital where the patient can be cared for is usually the ideal setting for one with sleep apnea after surgery.